


In Other Worlds and Other Times

by PalaeoPanthalassa



Category: The Dark Crystal (1982)
Genre: Gen, Karma - Freeform, The Division, angry skeksis, sad urru, skekFee is paranoid and eccentric, young skeksis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-09-17 01:17:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9297788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PalaeoPanthalassa/pseuds/PalaeoPanthalassa
Summary: Collection of small unconnected TDC one-shot stories; will range between silly and serious, can be any plot bunny that wishes to be expressed. Some will be in an AU, others set in my main TDC timeline.





	1. Useful

**Author's Note:**

> First one-shot is set 10 days after the great division. Just random slice-of-life, wrote this one without any prior planning as a writing challenge :)

Ok looked up from the mound of fallen wares as Li made an odd crooning sound. He was surprised to see that she had found an intact mirror amongst all the strewn mess in the small room. Now she admired her reflection, tilting her head and rearranging the ornaments she wore around her scrawny neck, ornaments that consisted of a silver cutlery, curtain rings, bolts and bracelets, all tied together haphazardly by a piece of old string.  
  
“You look ridiculous,” Ok exclaimed.  
  
“Hmm, pardon?” Li looked back at him, eyes dancing with mirth..  
  
Ok scoffed at her and went back to digging through the storeroom, searching for anything that might be of value. It had been nearly 10 nights now since the… the??? the whatever it had been… It had been 10 nights since the first day Ok had found himself as he was now. Before then his memories weren't so clear. Fragmented, broken, fractured, so that their consistency almost made him doubt they were even be his own.  
  
Ok recalled it as the day of confusion and fear, a short time of darkness when nothing had made sense and everything was dangerous, loud and painful.  
  
Even now, many days later, his left side’s ribs ached from where they had been bashed by Ung on that first day, he feared the bones might be broken. The dark bruising had since faded away, but the scars where his skin had been raked under cruel talons still appeared dark against his pale hide.  
  
Following the cracking of the crystal, there had been an immense earthquake that had shook the land. Everything that was loose in the castle at the time had been thrown around, leaving much of the castle in a wrecked messy state. The castle was immense, it would take them weeks to sort through all of it properly. Ok and Li were opportunists though, so they scrounged what they could find as quickly as they could.  
  
“That's everything of value in here,” Li said after a few moments. “You find anything good?”  
  
“Just a few pieces of cloth, and some more string,” Ok had already tied some of the larger pieces of what he had found around his own waist. It was hardly clothing, but it was at least something after all the larger skeksis had already fought over and taken what little material that lay around the castle for themselves.  
  
“You find any food?” Li moved closer, voicing a question that was weighing on all of their minds. Ok drew back as she double-checked that he wasn't hiding anything to himself.  
  
“No, of course not,” Ok squawked in annoyance, his own stomach grumbling at the mere mention of food. He was starving! The painful gnawing of hunger was something he had felt constantly for the past few days, his ribs and vertebra already visibly tugged at his skin, his narrow limbs now little more than bone. “Let's keep moving, there might be more salvageable goods in the next room.”  
  
Despite feeling the very same hunger and fatigue as he did, Li bounded ahead playfully while Ok trudged after her tiredly, his bony tail dragging upon the cold stone floor.  
  
“Once we've got enough goods, we can trade with the others!” Li said chirpily to him.  
  
“No, they'd just take what they want,” Ok warned her, glancing at the collection of trinkets around Li's neck. “That metal is ours, don't let them take it.”  
  
“Hm, what would you even do with it? It’s not like you have the means to meld or reuse it,” Li said, but didn't seem particularly interested in an answer, more content to add a swagger to her step so that the assortment of metal jangled loudly with every step she took, it seemed to amuse her.  
  
But it annoyed him.  
  
“Do you want everyone to know where we are?” he demanded irritably, but his words tinged with worry. “Stop that incessant racket!”  
  
They reached the top of a large stairwell, much of the it was filled with rubble, having been shaken loose from the ceiling and now blocking the way down.  
  
Ahead, Li came to a stop, something had caught her eye. Ok stood back as she began to tug something to tug something loose from amongst the mess. She stood up after a moment, pulling with her what appeared to be a dusty faded green curtain, and offered it to him.  
  
“Now you can be pretty too,” she joked. Ok grunted irritably, but didn't protest as she deftly swung the curtain around his shoulders, and tied it around his neck with a piece of spare string.  
  
“Hm, how do I look?” Ok asked awkwardly after a moment. He tried to imagine himself looking broader and stronger, more stately and important. Ok tried to stand taller, but it didn’t make much difference, he and Li were exactly the same height.  
  
Li falling uncharacteristically silent was the first thing that alerted Ok that they were not alone anymore.  
  
“Runts running rampantly,” called a gurgling curious voice. “What are they doing up here, I wonder?”  
  
Ok’s eyes widened at the familiar voice, his feet already beginning to move him further away from the sound as he turned and looked up. A figure bigger than both of them was leering in through the archway at the top of the stairwell. Dressed in not much more than a dirty grey blanket, the larger skeksis seemed to take up the entire archway, his long arms angled so that his cape blocked any way past him, his red gaze fixed on them intently.  
  
How had he managed to sneak up on them so quietly?!  
  
Frantically Ok glanced around for a method of escape. Scrambling over the rubble behind them down the stairs was a possibility, he would probably hurt himself by doing so but Ok realised there might not be another escape.  
  
Anything to get away from this dangerous skeksis!  
  
Li did not feel such reservations though.  
  
“Evening Mal,” she chirped, turning graciously and with elegance despite being little more than a bony starved figure dressed in a tattered piece of red drape. “What a pleasant surprise.”  
  
“Seems to me, that you two are up to something,” he ignored Li, tilting his toothy maw at Ok, as if sensing his unease. “Tell me then, what are you runts doing up here? Looks to me as if you’re hiding…”  
  
“We were just leaving,” Ok began to say.  
  
“Leaving to where?” Mal bright gaze had captured his and burned into him. “Where would the runts go outside of the castle? Nowhere to go, only dangerous beasts and burning sunlight.”  
  
“That sounds delightful,” Li interrupted cheekily. “I always love being burnt by the sun and eaten alive by wildlife. But I’d feel so unworthy of such a luxury, I think you’re much more deserving of such a trip, wouldn’t you agree?”  
  
Ok’s gaze snapped to glare at Li. ‘SHUT UP!’ he wanted to scream.  
  
It seemed to take Mal a moment to understand the jest. Then his ruby red eyes narrowed and he lunged forward, clawed bony hands only narrowly missing Li as she leapt out of the way. Leaping onto the stair banister, she slid out of view down the stairwell with a gleeful shriek.  
  
Leaving Ok alone with Mal.  
  
Ok gave the bigger skeksis an awkward smile as the other began to turn to glare at him,. Then without any other option, Ok threw himself after her, clinging to the banister with his narrow arms, he slid down head first with the most undignified and fearful squawk.  
  
It was over before he knew it, flying free of the stone banister at the bottom of the stairwell he landed upon the hard stone. He staggered, tripping over his tail and standing upon his cloak as he tried to get up again.  
  
Immediately warm hands were pulling him to feet, a warbling voice laughing quietly close to him. Li was dragging him after her before he could even recover his balance.  
  
“Quick, quick,” she said, practically giggling. “Let’s go! Before he catches up.”  
  
“Is he following us?” Ok yelped, looking back quickly.  
  
“Not yet, maybe he’s too big to slide down the banister,” Li laughed quietly as she broke into a run. “Let’s do as you said though, let’s go outside! He’d never think to look there!”  
  
“But it’s dangerous!” Ok whined but he didn’t stop running. He followed after Li faithfully, trying to match her bouncing step.  
  
They ran past the large imposing figures of Lach and Var, Ok noticed that they both already wore small adornments of metal, garnered through fights and what little order there was around the castle.  
  
Thankfully the two completely ignored the smaller skeksis as they ran past.  
  
Down, down the stairs they ran, down many stairwells that were so familiar but somehow new. Clawed hands scraping at the walls to stop themselves from falling forward, they passed through an empty courtyard and out through the open archways into the outside world.  
  
The wind whistled against their ears as they ran out across one of the many land-bridges that still connected the castle to the land around it, overpassing the deep crevasse that had formed around the castle and was now slowly beginning to fill with mud and rainwater.  
  
And ahead of them, an immense green landscape, Skarith, was dotted with trees and shrubs. Ok began to feel overwhelmed, panicked, he longed to run back to the castle again and hide. Fortunately Li finally came to stop, it was only then in the ensuing silence that he noticed her collection of metal trinkets were gone.  
  
“Where did all the metal we collected go?” he puffed, out of breath from a combination of fatigue and fear.  
  
“I had to leave it behind to distract Mal. If we had ran through the castle with that, we would have been chased by everyone who saw us,” she said matter of factly. “Where now?”  
  
“Back to the castle,” Ok replied stiffly. He wondered if it would be possible to recover the metal goods if they were fast enough, but he already knew it was a hopeless cause, if Mal hadn't taken it, one of the others definitely would have.  
  
“That’s no fun,” she tutted.  
  
“Well what do you want to do out here, eh?” he glanced worriedly at the trees, eyes narrowing in suspicion. This wild outside was dangerous!  
  
“Find something to eat, perhaps?” Li suggested.  
  
“Do you even know what you would be looking for? You’d more likely be eaten than find something worth eating.”  
  
The bushes nearby rustled, as if to prove a point. This time, even Li fell quiet.  
  
“What do we do?” hissed Ok worriedly. “Should we run?”  
  
“It could just be a bird,” Li suggested unsure, then a grin began to spread across her face. “An edible tasty bird which we could eat and wouldn't have to share with anyone else!”  
  
“Don't be hasty,” Ok stood in front of her. “We don't know what it might be!”  
  
“I wasn't actually going to do it,” Li laughed, then frowned. “But with how much food So, Var and Zok have been hogging for themselves I am really tempted to try to find something for myself.”  
  
“Ung too,” Ok added bitterly. “All of the big ones, throwing their weight around… The rest aren't as scattered and crawling as they were either, they find strength in numbers, Sil for example...”  
  
The bushes rustled again, this time indisputably. Ok felt his heart drop to stomach, a feeling of terror and fear, he longed to run as he saw the leaves part to reveal a large form looking out towards them.  
  
It took him a moment to realise that the figure looking back at him was another skeksis that he didn’t recognise.  
  
He was big, with a series of serrated scars across his maw that were still scabbed over, and completely naked. It took a few moments, but Ok quickly realised that this could only be one individual… though somehow he sensed it almost instinctively too as if he had known this skeksis for far longer.  
  
“skeksis Gra?” he asked doubtfully. “Everyone thought you were dead.”  
  
Following the great division, Gra had fled into the wilderness after being viciously struck by So, no one had seen anything more of him until now. Ok had wondered briefly if perhaps the one other missing skeksis, Yi, might be with him and glanced in the bushes behind him. But Gra appeared to be alone. It seemed Hak's dying words had been true, though no one else had seen it, he had claimed that Yi had been strangled to death.  
  
“skeksis Gra?” the large skeksis asked confused. “But I am just Gra. I am Gra, I wander…” Then he seemed to grow excited, beak curving into a strangely genuine smile that startled Ok. “You two are the same as me, with a tail and feathers.”  
  
He began to reach out towards them, they both instinctively leapt out of the way. The confused hurt on the large skeksis face as they evaded him made Ok raise an eyebrow at Li. Gra was nothing like the other large skeksis they were used to seeing.  
  
“This is Ok,” Li broke the awkward silence pointing at him. “And I am Li.”  
  
“Ok? And Li? Lili, liili, lilii,” Gra repeated to himself a few times, causing the two smaller skeksis to glance at each other in confusion as he smiled again. “I know both of you!”  
  
“Follow us back to the castle,” Li said to him. “Everyone was wondering where you had gone, perhaps you might want to share you tales with us?”  
  
“Yes, back to the castle,” Gra agreed with them, nodding vigorously. “I was here before.”  
  
Li smiled at Ok knowingly. This big skeksis did not seem all that bright to them, and better yet he wasn’t trying to hurt them. Perhaps, if they followed him around, he could prove useful against the others. Perhaps this meant they wouldn’t need to run and hide any longer.  
  
And despite all his worries and fears, Ok smiled back at Li confidently. Maybe things weren't as bleak as he had thought they were.


	2. Fractured

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Great Conjunction is at last at hand, but for the 18 Fallen Urskeks, and to SoSu most of all, things did not go to plan.

The light of the crystal was blinding.

What had only moments ago been a source of gentle warmth now became scorching heat, burning at his skin and searing his flesh.

The others were turning away from the crystal, star staffs clattering to the ground as they raised their arms to shield their faces.

But by some cruel twist of fate the burning light of the crystal bound them in place.

They were completely helpless.

SoSu didn't understand what this was happening. The light of the crystal was meant to healing, but beneath the light of long awaited Great Conjunction, the Eighteen Fallen felt nothing but pain. Was it perhaps a trial? A final test that they would have to pass before they could go home?

They all understood their mistakes now, they were without darkness in their hearts. They had repented and now they were to go home! Surely it would let them pass.

"Be...still," his words sounded disjointed. His face contorted as he fought to find the words he wanted, his thoughts muddled.

His vision was blurring, lights flashed before his eyes. Bright. Dark. Blinding. Harsh. SoSu could hear the panic and confusion in the voices of the others, their pained cries, indistinguishable as individuals any more, the sound merged into one sonorous cacophony, deafening him.

"Be...calm. We're nearly-"

White hot pain lashed across his back, like a burning blade imbedded in his spine, it felt almost as if he was being torn in two. Still he refused to give in. Skin upon his knuckles pulled taut, he still held up his star-staff to the crystal's light, even though now he could only look away.

He had to remain a beacon of hope to the others, he would not allow them to see his pain.

SoSu knew in that moment he would die before he would let any harm come to others. They were only here because of him! He would protect them for as long as he was able!

But the chamber around him was dissolving into a bright hazy blur.

And the cries of the others had faded to a dull roar.

He couldn't even protect himself.

"I-" the words died again on his lips, he could no longer see anything but white, his hearing just a high-pitched whine, growing louder and louder. A single image appeared in his mind's eye, of the 18 of them around the crystal awaiting the Great Conjunction that would take them home, at last worthy of standing in the light of their world, then it all fractured into a million pieces.

And he was gone.

…

His contorting body struck the chamber floor.

It hurt.

The rock was cold and hard, his limbs were twisted and crushed beneath his heavy body. And as the bright light of the crystal chamber faded, he slowly regained his sense. All around him he could hear gurgling, hissing and groaning, the sounds of sickness and pain.

Something was terribly wrong.

He rolled onto his front and pushed himself to his knees, body shaking with the strain of movement. His head felt heavy, his limbs weak, they shook and shuddered beneath him as they bore his weight. In one hand he held a crystal-tipped staff, he pushed it against the ground as he tried to stand.

It was a star-staff, his foggy memories told him.

_Where am I?_ The question overwhelmed him. _Who am I?_ And in a confused daze, he fell back heavily upon his haunches, his head lulling from side to side as he tried to focus. He wasn't sure to the answer of either question. He had a name, he knew he had a name… what was it?

The stone floor was cold beneath him, it chilled his bare flesh like ice, making him aware of his nude state. He was still too confused and exhausted to feel shame yet, he only felt a vague sense of regret as he picked at the thin raggedy cloth remnants that still hung around his neck and shoulders, where he was certain he had worn something much finer before.

Thoughts were slowly coming back, clearer and sharper now. He knew something had gone wrong, he wasn't sure how long ago, it could have been seconds, minutes or even hours. He looked around at his surroundings quickly despite his exhaustion, taking in the chamber and recognising it for what it was. _This place was familiar_. Of course, it was the crystal chamber! He knew the crystal chamber, he had come here every day at noon...for the past 1000 trine.

He frowned, something about this place made him angry, but he didn't yet have the clarity of mind to understand what or why.

But the rage was beginning to spread like a fire, burning in his heart and mind. Something had gone wrong, so someone had to be to blame.

And the last person he would have ever blamed was himself.

…

The nameless one felt free. He had no name, and that was fine, he did not need one.

This was his first thought.

His second thought was to ask himself why he felt free, but for that question he didn't have an answer.

The world was dark around him, but there was a soft glow in the great chamber. He didn't know where he was, or why he was here, but the fact did not bother him because he knew the answers would come to him in time.

The stone floor felt cold, so he pushed himself up away from it, taking his time to slowly sit upright and admire his surroundings with wonder and curiosity.

First he examined himself, and noticed that he had a tail – he wasn't sure he had always had one of those – and four arms with 4 fingers each – he knew these were new too. Then he looked to those around him, all equally raising themselves slowly from the ground, moving slowly but with grace as they too looked over themselves and their brethren.

They were together, he knew instinctively, he felt a connection to all of them. A calm feeling of contentedness filled him in just being near to them. These were his brethren, and he knew he would protect them.

Lastly he looked to the chamber, and noticed that they were not alone.

…

Everything was wrong!

Nothing was right!

The crystal chamber was dark when it should have been light!

The named one knew he should not have been lying on the cold stone floor. So why was he here? And where were the others? He knew there were others… Or was he alone in this dark chamber with only the crystal for company?

Suddenly fearful at the thought, he tried to call out.

Except no words would leave him. What should have been a shout was nothing but low quiet cry. And it left him horrified. He tried again, wheezing and choking as he tried to shout again and again. In desperation he began to smash his star-staff against the solid floor, just to make at least some noise.

The cracking sound echoed loudly in the crystal chamber.

He tried and tried again to call out, but without avail.

And then finally, a shrill animalistic shriek erupted in the chamber.

Shocked, he froze, holding his star-staff close to his chest, and listened. Had that noise been him?

Near him, something stirred. He heard the coarse scraping of bare skin against stone.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see something dragging itself towards him.

He turned immediately, but with his eyes still adjusting to the dark, all he could see was a large crouched shadow, its red eyes glinting beneath the faint light of the crystal.

Quickly he staggered to his feet, brandishing his star-staff as a weapon. A low animalistic hiss rose in his throat in warning.

To his surprise the creature was afraid, stumbling upon its short legs, raising long arms to shield its face. Too many limbs, all in a tangle, it fell upon its back as it struggled to get away.

Disgusted and horrified at this abomination, all dark and covered in hair and feathers, he followed after it, intent on beating it into the ground until it could pose no threat to him.

Before he could even stagger more than one step, another of the creatures appeared, he heard its hasty footfalls and panicky breathing long before he saw it emerge from the darkness.

This one much smaller and lighter coloured than the first, it was trying to run but couldn't seem to quite figure out how to. One moment on it was on both its hind legs and then the next it would clutch at the floor with the palms of its hands to stop itself falling.

But once the little creature could see him too, it veered to avoid him, only to run straight into the dark hairy one upon the ground.

There was a terrible high-pitched shriek as the large one suddenly lunged forward and sent the smaller one sliding across the floor.

And there were yet more in the room, he was beginning to hear them all now, as they in turn began to move around the crystal chamber, shrieking, shoving, hissing and growling as they began to fight amongst themselves. Some were dangerously close to him.

Two big creatures stumbled past him, grappling and striking one another as if they were the worst of enemies, so focused on one another that they didn't even appear to notice when he hissed in warning at them.

With his vision adjusting to the darkness he could now see there were many of them in the chamber, it was impossible to avoid the others, yet not all of them were fighting.

Many also cowered in fear as they staggered and crawled around in confusion. Some using walls, and even sometimes each other, to get to their feet, but they all appeared to fear one another. Disgusted at each other's touch, they pushed away as soon as they were standing, only to stumble and fall down again in their panic and confusion.

Amongst all of the fighting, panicking and crawling creatures, one didn't move at all.

It sat alone. Just like the rest it looked ill, head leaning too far forward and hair wild upon its face and neck, but it possessed an odd air of dignity in its stillness. And it's stillness were what allowed him to see it as it truly was. Around its neck and shoulders were long white tattered remnants of cloth, and in one hand it clutched a crystal-tipped staff just like his…

It was another star-staff.

A dawning sense of realisation began to creep up on him, but he fought it off with a snarl as one of the blundering and staggering creatures crashed into him. He whirled around and tried to grab the creature by its slender neck, but his hands instead only caught upon the cloth still limply hanging around its shoulders.

Wild, terrified eyes stared back into his as the creature struggled to fiercely escape from his hold and for a momenthe faltered. There was something hauntingly familiar about this individual, as if they had met before….

"Pleazzzz-" the creature whimpered, hands locking around his wrists and trying to pull him off. "Pleazzzzz!"

Memories of a sorrowful face danced before his mind's eye, of sorrowful singing, and later terrible rage. This was-… this was…

"Sssssssilllll…" he hissed the half-name with venom, knowing that this creature was to blame for something terrible. Was this the one? The one that had made everything go wrong? He didn't think about it, immediately trying to grasp the other by the throat. One of the Sil-creature's thrashing legs kicked him in the stomach, and he stumbled back.

In the second it took him to recover, the Sil-creature had already fled in to the mayhem of other brawling and crawling creatures. The named one never got a chance to chase after him, for he was not invisible to the others in the chamber either, and at that moment a large snarling individual began to charge towards him on all fours with horrifying speed.

He struck out just in time, batting its toothy maw away from him with a crack of his star-staff.

…

The levels of noise had increased steadily, at first the nameless one had ignored them. Noise was not that important to him, he could see his brethren with his eyes just fine, and could feel the kinship they shared without any external senses at all. They shared no words amongst themselves, and there was no need.

But as the sounds in the chamber had steadily gotten louder and louder, a sliver of doubt had begun to creep into his mind. Worry was not a feeling he felt he could quite comprehend yet, but he began to feel it nonetheless, though on the outside he showed no signs of concern, merely turning slowly with the others to observe the other group of beings begin to fight one another.

Then peaceful harmony they shared was shattered by sharp visceral pain. One of his brethren's slow and graceful movements were interrupted by an abrupt shudder, and then dark red rivulets began to run down his bare back.

And then very quickly, each of them were affected in turn.

Dark markings began to appear upon their pale skin.

And it hurt. It hurt him so much to see the others in pain and he could do nothing to stop it. He didn't know how to stop it, he didn't even know why they hurt.

All around them the noise of the other begins had reached a fevered pitch, the other beings who fought, spat, snarled and shrieked, they were bruised and bleeding too, but still they did not stop. They were not like them, though they too had four arms and tails, they moved like cornered and wounded animals, shuddering, twisting, thrashing and kicking, they existed as wild things.

…

The fighting was starting to die down at last, most of them had begun to tire themselves out, some had even fled the chamber altogether to get away. The named one himself had barely managed to fight his attacker off, he had his star-staff to thank. The big brute of a creature had staggered off in a daze, still slavering but looking for easier prey, ironically followed closely by a smaller one that had watched the entirety of their fight.

The named one ignored them now, they only mattered while they were a threat to him. He focused on the others closer to him, hissing and snarling at them in warning, daring them to get close enough so that he could strike them down.

It was only then that he noticed he and his kind were not alone in the crystal chamber.

Moving so slowly amongst the chaos, as to almost be invisible, strange creatures larger than they were sat silently amongst the mayhem. Many were bloodied, their pale yellow skin and light straw-coloured hair accentuating the dark marks and streaks upon their large smooth bodies. They were all injured, yet they did not appear to be afraid, they glanced at their wounds with confusion, slow to react, taking their time to examine themselves.

Their slowness and indifference confused him, and slowly this dissolved into disgust.

Just what were these things?!

Suspicion clouded his thoughts.

…

The other beings had begun to notice them now, jabbing pointed fingers at him and his brethren as they squawked incomprehensively amongst themselves. Very quickly each and every one of the beings fell silent. And then they stared, with cold and empty eyes.

The silence did not last long.

One of the beings, a large one with a long face and heavy brow let out a gargling hiss, then charged towards them, crawling and scrambling on all fours, its second pair of arms forgotten, twitching and twisting erratically upon its back.

It collided with the smallest of his brethren with a sickening thud. Violently knocking aside the hands that tried to gently push it away, the being grabbed and crushed his kin's throat.

Nearby there was a high-pitched shriek and gurgling sound, inexplicably one of the others beings had begun to choke. Those beings closest to the spectacle croaked and squawked amongst as the choking individual collapsed amongst them.

The murderer looked back too, for a moment almost hesitating.

"Hnnn," one amongst his brethren made a low groaning sound, an uncertain quiet and sad sound.

But it was like a thunderclap in the room.

The heavy-browed being's head snapped back around in their direction. Tossing aside the limp body of its victim, it snarled and charged at them again, shunting and shoving the others aside blindly until it tackled the one who had dared protest.

The force of the collision did not knock the protestor down, he was much bigger than the last. So the murderous being changed tactics in a split-second, grasping at the other, it began to hoist him upon its shoulders, body shaking with the strain.

The nameless one wanted nothing more than to save his brethren, he would not let another of them perish, but he also knew that there was nothing he could do. In his new form, he came to realise, action was impossible.

"HARRGH!" the murderous being bellowed and uncoiled like a spring, launching his captured kin down the crystal shaft to his doom.

It was over in the blink of an eye. The nameless one had lost another of his fellows, just mere moments apart. But he didn't have time to think of this when there were still the living to protect.

The other beings had started to move closer now, they did not move quickly, but he could see the murder in their eyes. Instinctively his brethren began to bunch together, slowly inching back and silently raising their hands out to ward off attack.

He knew he had to protect the others, he was raising himself up off the ground before he was even consciously aware of it. Standing tall upon shaking legs, raising his arms to make himself look bigger. The advancing creatures appeared to hesitate, some stopped in their tracks.

Then the chamber was lit by a flash of light, and was once more filled with terrible shrieks.

…

The named one stumbled back as one of his kind shrieked and writhed, his hair and feathers aflame. All fearsome strength that had possessed him mere moments ago were literally burnt away in mere seconds, his heavy blackened body collapsing upon the cold stone floor with a pitiful whimper.

Some of his kind immediately burst into chocking, crackling laughter at the sight. It confused him as to why, he felt nothing but sick twisting uncertainty in his stomach at the sight.

What had just happened? Would it happened to him as well?

"ARGH!" someone squawked loudly, frantically jabbing their star-staff in towards one end of the chamber, directing their attention elsewhere. The named one, amongst all the others, looked and saw what had caught the squawker's attention.

Savages!

Two gelflings were right there!

Snarling amongst themselves, they ignored the slow creeping creatures, they all began to converge towards where the gelflings hid, many of them picking up fallen star-staffs as they went, still staggering on unsteady legs.

But then he noticed another figure, slightly bigger than a gelfling but larger and stockier, dressed in robes of faded red, and behind her a lanky angular creature dressed in blue followed, trying desperately to pull her back.

Aughra, and her wayward son, Raunip.

Troublemaker! Hate-stirrer!

Ugly foul miserable little creature!

Seething with rage, he immediately forgot about the gelflings in turn, and turned to face them with an angered snarl. His memories felt like fragments, cracked and broken, many were missing, but he felt so certain about this. Raunip was the enemy!

The named one's angered growl was noticed by several of the others standing closest to him, losing interest in the gelflings as well, they followed after him towards this new enemy.

Aughra never cowered, even though they were both bigger and greater in number, she actually began to walk towards them, speaking to them, using clear words in a language he understood well but chose not to. His eyes remained set on the smaller creature hidden behind her, the one who was still urging Aughra to flee, he did not care for her false words.

Raunip had done something to them, he was sure of that, he didn't know what and he didn't care to know either, his only wish now was to beat the little cretin until he stopped breathing.

Aughra noticed their lack of interest in communicating, because she began to shout louder, trying to be heard by all of them, trying to get them to listen to her.

"Appeal to the great crystal to put you back together again! I will do this with your help! Please! Look inside yourselves. Do you not wish to be whole again?"

What she was saying was too much for anger clouded mind to comprehend. None of her words made any sense. He was already whole! All was wrong that he was here, when he should have gone home. The named one's suspicions now shifted from Raunip to Aughra. She had been the only one besides themselves that had understood the Great Conjunction, she must have done something to have interfered with the ceremony!

He suddenly became aware of the star-staff still tightly clasped in his hand and looked at it with sickly suspicion. The star-staffs! They were not of urskek design! They had been Aughra's idea!

He snarled defiantly at her.

Aughra and her son had wished to keep them here, tear their memories out and warp them beyond recognition. It was all some foul twisted joke. After all these years, a millennia of repentance, all for nothing.

And now she dared ask him to stop?

Without another thought, he charged at the crystal, raising his star-staff above his head and bringing it down with all his might upon the treasonous great crystal.

Immediately he was flung back against the hard stone floor, clinging to his head and trying to guard his ears from the sound, as a terrible chiming shriek filled the crystal chamber, but unlike that of any living creature. No matter how he tried though he could not stop it, the sound reverberated through his very bones, the floor itself shaking with the force of it.

The wail of the crystal seemed to go on forever.

The named one clang to his head and curled upon the floor, just trying to survive the agony of the terrible sound.

And when it eventually stopped, they were alone in the crystal chamber, save for Aughra and her son. Their bodies hurt, and where the light of crystal had once shone white it was now darkened.

Even as he staggered back to his feet away, trying to regain his bearings, he noticed that Aughra was already moving towards him. She was angry, furious even, shouting accusations as she reached out to take the star-staff from him.

An anger like nothing else overcame him, and he swung at her furiously.

Raunip pulled her out of harm's way just in time. The two hastily began to retreat towards the crystal, Raunip's spidery body quickly vanishing down the shaft out of sight, as he helped his mother to climb down with him.

The named one staggered after them, the of the others that had recovered now as well, they all headeds towards the crystal, and looked down.

There was no sign of Aughra or Raunip to be seen.

For some moments, the named one stood staring blankly down the crystal shaft all the way to the great fire lake deep down below.

They had escaped.

The ones to blame had escaped!

Overcome by fury, he shrieked wordlessly in denial and at long last relinquished his grip upon his star-staff, choosing to hurl it across the chamber, where it clattered loudly against the stone floor.

Staggering and snarling to himself he tried to make some sense of the world around him. The named one could not remember his name, though he knew he had one, he recalled it with difficulty. He was so angry, confused and afraid, nothing made any sense to him and he felt raw in this world, as helpless and as knowledgeable as a new born.

"Sssssssssssss," he hissed to himself, trying to form his name as it came to him. "I aaaamm Sssssssssss."

Try as he might, he still could not speak. One of the others now came up to him, cawing quietly, and in its hands it held out his fallen star-staff in offering.

Giving up on his name, he looked for a moment at the odd creature that was now his kind, but he could not even recognise who this had one been.

With a snarl, he savagely struck the other across the face.

Only one thing made sense in this world to him, and that was being in control.

…

They were running, running and running to get away from the only home they had known for the last millennia.

The nameless one followed last in their group, watching over the others to make sure none felll behind.

The ground had stopped shaking now, but they still weren't slowing, this fresh new painful emotion, panic, still surged through their bodies, they fled in near silence.

When one grunted loudly, stumbled and fell upon the ground to be left in the dust, the nameless one slowed, went back for his fallen kin immediately. Ahead of them, the others ahead began to slow in turn, and turn back so as not to be separated, but not all of them did. The nameless one could only watch in confusion as one of his kin continued to run on alone, vanishing amongst the trees of the nearby wood, and not looking back once.

The one who had fallen had a deep gash across his face, though he did not appear to feel the pain, he was clearly dazed and confused by the injury, as the others gathered around him silently.

The nameless one acknowledged himself and his brethren as perfect, he knew better now that he had had time to let his thoughts settle, that they were all that they were all their kind had ever wanted to be, any darkness to their bodies had been burnt right out of them. He felt no anger or aggression, no greed or jealousy, these were only words he knew now but did not fully comprehend. The concept of individuality was also gone, and to him this was good, his nameless state was proof of that.

But there was one affliction that had not left them, one that had already began to gnaw at his mind, and he knew the others too were effected. Sorrow clang to them like a blanket.

They were not meant to be here. This was not their world. This was not their home. They were trapped, and might never return. Two of them had already been lost.

He helped the one who had fallen back to his feet, then turned silently to lead them all onwards. All as one, they resumed their journey, now following after their nameless leader, as nameless individuals, in search of a new home.


	3. Firebugs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU (featuring skekFee) = skekEkt needs gems to make a brooch for the Emperor, skekFee has some gems, but can the Prospector be trusted?

An old tattered drape fell from the wall, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.

skekEkt sneezed.

Muttering to himself, he daintily sidestepped the fallen drape and continued onwards through the maze of corridors he now found himself in.

It was dark down here, there were fewer windows and not as many glow-stone lanterns. Cobwebs lined the walls and forgotten century-old furniture and obsolete mining equipment lay crumbling against the wall.

The Ornamentalist let out a small cry of distress as he noticed how the dust upon the floor clung to the ends of his trailing robes.

"Never again, never again," he chirped to himself, viciously swiping at his sleeves to remove the worst of the filth. Alone in the dark dusty corridor, skekEkt silently cursed the skeksis who had made him come down here in the first place.

They could have met at his workshop, or his chambers, or anywhere else really… just not down here in the obsolete mining quarters – the mines beneath the castle long since emptied. But skekFee has been insistent. She would not talk trade with him anywhere else.

The warm glow of a lantern up ahead hurried his steps, at last he could see the outline of the archway to the Prospector's workshop.

"Prospector?" skekEkt called as he stepped over the threshold.

He look around.

The chambers were relatively large, courtesy of it having been built originally as a storage room, and to anyone unfamiliar with skekFee's tendency to hoard, it still appeared to be a storage room. It was crowded to the ceiling with wooden boxes, crates, chests and cabinets. At one end there was a large wooden desk, covered in papers, inkwells and pens. Several wooden crates stuffed with yet more papers were balanced precariously on top of it. Glass tanks and display cabinets were also present in the room amongst many others things, stacked on top of each other or crammed behind yet other stacks of crates, many full of rocks, minerals and tools, while in others things crawled, swam and squirmed. And amongst all this mess at the other side of the room was also what appeared to be a bed, but it was buried under a mass of yet more papers so it was hard to tell.

It didn't appear anyone was here.

"Prospector?" skekEkt called again, then shrieked as something scuttled past his feet and out of the door.

"Who is that?!" barked an irate voice. "Is that you, Ornamentalist? That scream couldn't be anyone else's."

What he had taken to be a mound of discarded drapes turned around and squinted at him through a pair of purple rimmed spectacles.

"Prospector, it is good to see you," skekEkt tried to greet her politely, but couldn't help his eyes straying sideways to glance nervously at a green tank in which something dark and scaly writhed and twisted in the water.

"I'm here for my gems, the ones I requested yesterday?" he got straight to the point of his visit, eager to leave the overcrowded room.

"Yes, yes, I know that," skekFee replied irritably, turning away and waddling behind a pile of crates and vanishing from sight again. Then she stopped and backed out again to look at him suspiciously. "You did bring me what I asked for?"

skekEkt held forth a small paper parcel tied with twain. To his alarm, she immediately began to rush towards him, hands outstretched. Quickly, he raised the parcel above his head, stretching out a crooked back that protested with a painful twinge at harsh treatment.

"Ack, no," he squawked turning away from her as she tried to grab the parcel from him. "Not until I see what you have for me. It must be worthy or you get nothing, this is in an exchange for prized jewellery! It must be special!"

skekFee withdrew, sourly regarded him with one eye.

"You don't trust me?" she accused. "I know a diamond in the rough, I know potential when I see it! You will see."

She disappeared back around the stack of crates. There was some loud rummaging, skekEkt rubbed at his sore back while he waited impatiently, trying to pass off the move as him rearranging the back of his robes. A few moments later, skekFee re-emerged once more, now with a small treasure chest clasped in her gnarled hands.

"What is contained in this chest is precious, no one else has anything like them in all of the kingdom," she waved one hand dramatically over the lid and smiled smugly, Ekt blinked at her in confusion. Huffing, she popped open the lid of the chest, revealing a number of unpolished green gems that seemed to emit a faint glow.

"Green glow stones?" skekEkt was not impressed. "That is hardly any different than any other glow stone in any of the lamps around the castle."

"Ah, but what glow stones do this!" skekFee took a very small, and very ungraceful, leap forwards, shaking the treasure chest as she did so. skekEkt squeaked in outrage as she nearly stepped upon his robes. When he looked up though, he saw that the gems in the chest now glowed brighter, and as skekFee uncharacteristically leapt again, they glowed brighter still.

"They resonate with the energy of the bearer," she told him proudly. "The more energetic the bearer, the more brightly they glow. The slower they move, the fainter they grow."

skekEkt uncrossed his arms in consideration.

"In turn these gems surely reflect youthfulness!" she gave him a crooked grin. "Anyone who sees a skeksis wearing these brightly glowing gems, could not deny that skeksis had supreme youth! Why, the whole castle would want these if they knew about them! But I offer them to you alone, in exchange for my request."

"Here," skekEkt practically threw the parcel at her. "I'll take them all."

"You'll take one," skekFee snapped the lid of the chest shut. "And you won't even get that, until I've seen what YOU have got for me."

"I made them exactly as you requested," skekEkt said quietly, gesturing with a lacy gloved hand to the parcel.

skekFee put the chest upon her desk and unceremoniously began to tear the paper parcel open, skekEkt watching impatiently over her shoulder.

She tossed aside the torn paper and froze.

"These…these are perfect," skekFee seemed lost for words, and for a moment skekEkt feared the volatile Prospector was about to burst into tears. "You have no idea how much this means to me…"

Feeling uncomfortable, skekEkt cleared his throat. "Gems please, I don't have much time, I must have crafted with them by tomorrow evening."

The Prospector immediately seemed to snap out of her reverie and gave him a considering look.

"Of course," she picked up the treasure chest, opening the lid once more. "Take your pick, take two if you wish."

skekEkt daintily picked two of the largest of the gems, bracing the rock between his slender fingers, he grimaced at the coating of dust they left behind on his gloves.

"They're filthy," he sniffed unhappily.

"They are fresh from the mines," she told him, raising an eyebrow. "What difference does it make?"

"Never mind," he said quickly, reluctantly pushing both gems into one of his waistcoat pockets. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Thank you," she waved him away awkwardly.

The Prospector watched as the Ornamentalist left her office, then turned to look down at her end of the trade. skekFee was not as young as she had once been, nor as hardy. Prone to getting too cold at night in recent years, the quality of her sleep had deteriorated. The two fluffy socks, bright purple and soft as satin, were more precious than gold to her.

Technically bribing was forbidden by the Emperor, any sort of trading without his consultation went against the law. Though skekFee doubted he was going to care much if skekEkt made a few small tokens for her in exchange for some gemstones, it was something she would still have to keep quiet about.

Seeing that it was starting to get dark outside, she headed to one open window. Here hung a number of ornaments, amongst them were assorted dreamcatchers, decorative mobiles and wind-chimes, all covered further by excessive small gems and coloured feathers.

Through some rummaging she found what she was looking for, hanging upon a tough piece of string were several green gems, much smaller than those that Ekt had taken, but as she gave the string a rough shake, they glowed just as brightly.

Immediately there was a rustling and scurrying of many tiny feet, and the scratching of scaly skin against sand, glass and rock. skekFee cast her gaze aside to look contentedly at the many tanks and cages that she kept aligned against her wall, she could see the numerous different occupants converging towards the glow.

"Be patient, my crawlies," she crooned. "Soon you'll be fed."

And as the sky continued to darken outside, she caught the first of the firebugs to appear between cupped hands.

 

* * *

 

skekEkt worked feverishly throughout much of that night and the following morning. Of the two gems, one he had concealed away for himself – the other he worked on now, polishing and crafting the intricate delicate metal framework that would hold it, already he had scratched his fingers twice and nearly broken the skin – but he wouldn't have thought of letting anyone but himself to do this work, for this was no ordinary brooch, but a gift for the Emperor himself!

Tonight was the 624th anniversary since the great division, as per tradition, the Emperor was to initiate the celebrations outside in the courtyard, before leaving the castle and leading the celebrations amongst the pilgrims and peasants in the lands around the castle. He had requested a brooch specifically, something that would reflect his power, wealth and strength.

It had to be perfect!

By the early evening, he had finished. Pleased with his job, he left his workshop, and shooing away skekShod as he went – the Treasurer having been lurking in the hallway outside, wanting to see exactly what the Ornamentalist had been working on. If anything involves valuables, then skekShod was always there.

The Emperor was delighted with the new brooch, and had seemed to fluff to twice his size in pride at being told of its unique ability to reflect the power of the bearer. He even seemed to regain some of the youthfulness to his step, practically prancing around the room as skekEkt praised and complimented him.

The timing had been a close call though, and as soon as he was finished with his dealings with the Emperor, skekEkt had to hurry to get to the banquet hall so as to be with his brethren by the time the ceremony started.

Most of the other skeksis lords were already there by the time he arrived, though a few were missing still. skekFee was not amongst those present – and following her usual pattern at celebrations like this, she probably wouldn't be turning up until the last moment – though her two allies were there, but hesitated with speaking to either of them.

skekTor the Overseer was alright enough, though skekEkt knew to avoid speaking to him in public out of respect to the Chamberlain, who could not stand him. skekKro the Analyst on the other hand was very unsettling to be around – though he had never said or done anything directly against anyone as far as skekEkt knew, there was something very unnerving about the quiet monocle-wearing skeksis. skekAyuk had once described talking to the Analyst as being akin to having your mind butchered like a nebrie – skekEkt thought it was a good analogy.

skekEkt spent the next few minutes in the hall socialising, flitting between nearly anyone who was willing to chat, as the servants carried out the tables and food into the courtyard in preparation for the festivities which were to take place once the Emperor had given his speech. He had just found the Gourmand and Chamberlain again, when someone coughed behind him.

"Where was it from?" a hoarse voice asked. "It wasn't from the treasury."

He turned slowly, recognising the Treasurer's voice.

"Where was what from?" he asked blankly, giving the other wide-eyed look, which he hoped looked innocent, though such subtleties were likely lost on the Treasurer.

"Emperor's new gem, shiny gem," skekShod persisted. "The one you just gave, the one I saw in the hall. It's not from the treasury. Where did you get it?"

"I…I found it," skekEkt lied, and thought it was the perfect lie. "Just lying on the floor. Some gelfling must have dropped it. I tried to see if anyone was missing it, but no one came forward, so I took it."

Okay, so maybe it was a bad lie. A really, really bad lie. But skekEkt was still proud of himself to have come up with an answer so quickly.

skekShod slinked off without another word.

"How rude!" skekEkt exclaimed making sure most of the court was in earshot, then he promptly forgot about the exchange when the Emperor arrived.

It was the signal came for them to all move outside. skekSo was the first to head out into the courtyard and they all followed after him, chattering amongst themselves excitedly.

The darkening evening sky was a beautiful sight, a great grey blue canvas awash with a gradient of pink and orange, the last of the three suns still yet to set below the horizon. Down below the castle on the grounds were many glowing lights of the tents and structures that had been set up as part of the festival to come. And as if some of these lights had a life of their own and had flown free of the land below, flying lazily in the night air were several glowing insects. Each glowed a soft green light of their own, and it enchanted him. skekEkt quickly pointed the glowing insects out excitedly to his two companions.

"Firebugs," the Chamberlain told him, but otherwise remained politely disinterested.

The Gourmand on the other hand made a grand show of pretending to be fascinated, guffawing several sentences about the brilliance of their light and how it contrasted beautifully with the night sky, waving his pudgy hands theatrically to accentuate his thoughts.

Even if it was a bit overdone, skekEkt still appreciated his enthusiasm.

The green glow of the firebugs was just like that of the gem he had been working on the past day, he thought, unintentionally it was like he had captured the essence of something living and made it eternal. He made sure to tell both of the others this at least twice.

And as the Emperor began his speech, as was tradition each year since they had first become skeksis, skekEkt couldn't help but notice how the firebugs accentuated the brightness of the brooch upon his robes even further as he stood tall against a darkening sky. It was a perfect image, so picturesque, not for the first time in living memory, skekEkt wished he could just capture the living moment in a portrait, if only such a thing were possible. Perhaps a re-imagining would still do, he would see about getting some of the servants to paint such a thing.

Perhaps with slightly fewer firebugs, there seemed to be more than usual this evening.

Then there was a sharp yank on one of his sleeves.

He let out a small startled screech, and whipped around to look accusingly at who had dared to do such a thing. To his surprise it was the Prospector, and she was glowering at him with silent rage.

"Thief!" she hissed. "Thief! How dare you! You took them all for yourself, didn't you? They were not yours to take!"

"What are you talking about?" he hissed back. "I took nothing!"

"My green glow stones!" she accused. "They're all gone! Someone took them, and the only person who knew about them was you!"

"But I told no one," skekEkt let out a small hurt cry, gaining the confused looks from several nearby skeksis, and causing skekFee to frown at the extra attention he had brought to their conversation. "I only did what I said I would, I made the gemstone as a brooch for the Emperor!"

skekFee's eyes widened.

"That gem was for the Emperor?!" she whispered. "I thought it was for you!"

"Was there something wrong with them?" skekEkt suddenly suspicious that the Prospector had tricked him in their trade.

The Prospector shook her head frantically, and gave him as strained smile. "There is nothing wrong with them, they're beautiful gems!"

"Then why are you acting like this? Hm?"

"They mustn't be worn outside, that's why!" she hissed exasperatedly, casting a suspicious look at skekSil and skekAyuk, who were both obviously listening in on their conversation.

"And why is that? It looks brilliant, and the Emperor loves it," skekEkt replied raising his voice deliberately so that both the Gourmand and Chamberlain could hear him.

skekFee, not changing her scowling expression once, slowly raised one arm and pointed behind them. They all looked.

"Oh my…" skekAyuk exclaimed.

skekSo the Emperor had stopped his speech, or rather he had been forced to give it up. Where he had been peacefully standing just moments ago was now a growing whirlwind of light, hundreds upon hundreds of firebugs were circling him. Both he and some skeksis standing closest to him were swatting at the flying insects, but to no avail, the situation was only worsening. More and more firebugs were flying in steadily across the courtyard, seemingly drawn in by the light.

Finally unable to take it anymore, the Emperor fled. By now he was nothing but a huge ball of glowing light hurtling across the courtyard, still frantically flailing his arms and cursing furiously, all regal poise forgotten.

A moment later a very concerned skekVar chased after skekSo, trying to shout advice to the panicking Emperor. He was quickly joined by skekZok, and then skekSil also hurried to chase after them.

"What do we do?! What do we do?!" panicked skekAyuk, looking to skekEkt for answers.

The Ornamentalist's only reply was a theatrical whimper before he covered his face with both hands.

"I've just decided I don't want those missing gems anymore," skekFee said in a quiet voice, and he heard her move to run away.

"Not so fast, this is your fault!" skekEkt grabbed hold of her carapace. "I won't be blamed for this! I won't!"

"I use those damn gems as bug bait to feed my pets!" she gave him a guilty grin, her eyes darting everywhere. "The more the Emperor thrashes the brighter the gem will glows and the more firebugs he will attract! You've got to stop him!"

"This is not my fault! You do it!" he told her.

They both drew back as a figure ablaze with firebugs suddenly ran past them, but it wasn't the Emperor. Clutching an open treasure chest, skekShod was barely visible as he coughed and barked, refusing to let go of the hoard of green glow-stones even to defend himself.

"AHA! THIEF!" skekFee shrieked gleefully at him, pointing accusingly as she jumped up and down on the spot.

"Prospector!" skekEkt whined, not caring about the Treasurer.

skekFee stopped immediately and stared back at him with wide eyes.

"You did not get that gem from me. This was not my fault, no, no, definitely not my fault," she told him quickly, wringing her hands and looking back at the chaos that had ensued.

skekEkt looked back again to where skekSo was still floundering around like a great whirlwind of light, now chased by most of the court, then back to where skekFee, only to see she was running away.

Looking back once more, he was just in time to see skekVar leap upon the fleeing Emperor's back and knock him to the ground, immediately the other skeksis piling up around them in a panic, seemingly thinking that smothering him would help fight off the firebugs. Invisible beneath them all, skekSo was still able out one very loud bellow of fury.

With an alarmed squawk, skekEkt raised both his hands above his head and span around, running after skekFee.

"Wait for me! Wait for me!" he called after her, and fled back into the castle.

 

* * *

 

And no one ever did claim responsibility for the gemstone brooch.

skekFee claimed ignorance when asked, skekEkt couldn't say anything against her without revealing that he had been bribed – so skekEkt claimed he had taken the gem from the treasury, and skekShod – unable to admit that he had stolen the gems from skekFee – had to play along and claim he wasn't aware that the glow-stones were any different from any others when he had given them to skekEkt.

In the end, all the Emperor could do was declare a new law, banning the use of glowstones as jewellery or ornamentation – after his initial wish to "ban the existence of all firebugs in Skarith" proved to be rather difficult to enforce.


End file.
